Bukowina is what happens when a mountain village decides to become a ski and spa resort and only partly forgets its roots. It lies on the Podhale plateau, the high rolling country at the foot of the Tatras, and the view from the open ridges around it is the thing you ride for: the whole Tatra wall standing across the southern horizon like a stage set, with Slovakia just behind. On a clear morning the sharp summits look almost close enough to touch.
The road along the foothills here is a gentle one, with rolling hills, wooden farmhouses, hay meadows and little chapels at every second bend, and it makes an excellent counterweight to the high mountain roads further south. Traffic is heavy at weekends and in peak holiday season, when day-trippers from Kraków and Zakopane clog the main road, so early mornings and weekdays reward you with an emptier tarmac. The surface is generally good, with occasional frost damage on the side lanes. Autumn is lovely, with a clear light and the first snow dusting the high peaks while the meadows below are still green.
The people of Podhale, the górale or highlanders, have a distinct culture with their own dialect, music, carved wooden architecture and food. You will see houses in the traditional style with steep roofs and decorated gables, and stalls selling oscypek, the smoked sheep's cheese pressed in wooden moulds, usually served grilled with cranberry jam. It is salty, smoky and surprisingly addictive. Warm soups and kwaśnica, a sauerkraut stew, are the right order of the day if it is cold. Bukowina also has thermal pools, drawn from hot water deep below the plateau, which are a good reward after a rainy ride.
Fuel is not an issue in the wider area, but the village is small, so use Zakopane, about twelve kilometres away, for a proper selection, or the nearer larger villages along the main road. Parking is easy and the many guesthouses are used to motorcyclists with muddy boots. Come early, take a slow lunch, and let the plateau do its work.